


Beautiful

by rudbeckia



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Body Worship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Lingerie, M/M, Masturbation, Mind Reading, Sharing a Bed, Teasing, Uniforms, not now boner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 12:42:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13881096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudbeckia/pseuds/rudbeckia
Summary: Supreme Leader Kylo Ren and his spokesperson, General Armitage Hux are on a planet to negotiate its peaceful acceptance of First Ordercontrolprotection. Before he leaves, Hux decides he wants to feel beautiful today and he dresses himself with that, and one of his favourite fantasies, in mind.Has he forgotten that his Supreme Leader can read his mind?Alternative Description: my self indulgent present-tense fic where I shoehorn in all my very favourite tropes and a happy ending.Also, lookHEREfor a gorgeous illustration of Hux in lingerie and Ren in uniform by @theearlgreyalpha !





	Beautiful

Hux stares at himself in the full length mirror in his suite on The Finalizer. It is a pure indulgence, usually hidden under a red and black blanket that even Kayfour is instructed not to touch. He blushes a little at the sight of his pale skin, pink here and there from the sanisteam, and darts his tongue out to wet dry lips. The lace looks good on him, he thinks, ultramarine silk trimmed with a pale green that reminds him of the colour of the sea viewed on a rare calm day from the cliffs on which the Academy perched back on Arkanis. He catches his own eyes and his expression hardens. Words he associates with Arkanis flood his brain and he sneers.

_Weak willed. Skinny. Useless. Waste of good sperm. Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about. The Hux line stops here unless I have another brat somewhere._

He’d shown the old bastard. He hadn’t cried at all as he’d watched his father dissolve. Waste of good bacta, he’d said to Phasma, who’d gripped his shoulder once for a few seconds and walked away.

He smoothes the slippery fabric down against his lean body and touches his cock. The tingle he feels makes his eyes close and his breath catch, a smile playing at the corners of his full lips. But there isn’t time to lose himself in an indulgent fantasy and he’s not in the mood for a quick wank. It will be all the better for the wait. Hux reaches for his uniform breeches and slips them on over the top of his non-regulation briefs, cock half hard at the delicious thought that nobody knows what lies beneath his regulation exterior. It’s like a kind of armour, he realises with a huffed laugh, and it’s worth every credit.

He sighs with regret that he can’t wear the insubstantial stockings and pretty turquoise slippers under his boots. He goes to pack them back into their box and stash it in its place in the wardrobe, but at the last second he changes his mind. He folds the stockings, wraps the satin slippers in a spare shirt, and packs both into his overnight bag.

***

“You will deliver my speech,” says Kylo Ren as if there was ever any doubt, and Hux shrugs.  
“Of course, Supreme Leader. We agreed that would be my primary role at official functions.” He shifts in his seat, feeling the slip of fabric around his waist and hips, silk tucked into his waistband and hidden by layers of shirt and tunic and coat. It gives him a little thrill and he thinks of the rest of his pretty outfit tucked away into the bag under his seat in the shuttle. For later. For him. Kylo Ren hands him a datapad and Hux accepts it without looking up. He feels good, confident, knowing that he’s wearing his pretty armour. He reads Ren’s notes—at least the Supreme Leader trusts him with only the main points and allows him leeway to add his own flair—and starts filling in the rhetoric that will swell their support. He’s _good_ at this. The Supreme Leader _needs_ him for this. Perhaps, Hux smiles at the stray thought, the gratitude of the Supreme Leader might feature in his fantasy later.

“What?”  
Hux looks up and the Supreme Leader is looking at him.  
“What?” asks Hux in return, a little snappish at being disturbed in the middle of composing a particularly emotive sentence about the importance of bestowing order on the entire galaxy.  
“I thought you said...” says Ren but stops and looks away. “Nothing. Never mind. I was mistaken.”  
Hux frowns slightly and wonders if it’s his imagination or if the Supreme Leader is looking a little pink in the cheeks. It’s warm in the cabin of the shuttle, he supposes, and Kylo Ren is wearing a cape over his usual padded tunic. Hux returns to his speech with a smile at the thought of how good the Supreme Leader would look in uniform, if such a thing as a Supreme Leader uniform were to exist. He snuck a glance over at Kylo Ren, who was looking intently out of the forward viewport, presenting Hux with his profile. Black and gold, thought Hux absently as he returned his attention to his speech. With his dark colouring and strikingly rugged looks, the Supreme Leader would be stunning in a plain black uniform with a belt to accentuate his waist and a black cape with wide gold trim. Maybe a hairbrush then a gold circlet to set off that lustrous mane.

Unseen by Hux, the Supreme leader smiles.

***

The official function is, like all such things, a dull necessity of leadership. On arrival, lackeys turn up to take their bags to their hotel suite and are escorted by Hux’s chosen captain and two of the Supreme Leader’s personal guard. Hux allows Ren to walk down the ramp a pace in front and comments that at least this planet has an efficient landing procedure because he knows the Supreme Leader doesn’t like to wait. Ren does not reply but Hux knows he has heard from the slight incline of his head.

There is no time wasted in a pointless visit to their rooms before the function. A nervous local security officer greets them at the side exit of the shuttleport and ushers them into a waiting speeder with the telltale signs of privacy tint and thicker than usual transparisteel windows that mark it out to the experienced eye as a security vehicle. Soon they are in busy traffic. Hux leans forward and speaks to the lieutenant.  
“Why are we not in a priority lane?” he asks tersely. “Do they not know who is visiting?”  
“Um, yessir,” replies the lieutenant, glancing back at Hux’s stern expression. “There’s a decoy speeder convoy in the priority transport lane. There was a credible report of a possible assassination attempt tonight and the Governors thought it best to keep your arrival secure.”

Kylo Ren barks with laughter and startles Hux. The lieutenant concentrates on piloting the speeder smoothly. Hux frowns at the Supreme Leader, fear churning his gut and rushing his words. “I should have thought you might show more concern at the threat of a potential attempt on your life!” Hux says. “Are you so confident that you are—“  
“I am no more immortal than my predecessor,” replies Kylo Ren before Hux finishes asking the question. “But if there was a threat I would feel it like I felt you reach for your blaster in Snoke’s throne room. I am relieved you chose not to try to kill me. That decision saved your neck.”  
Hux unconsciously reaches for his throat to rub away phantom pressure. He tells the Supreme Leader quietly to bend double and suck himself off if there’s nothing better he could think of to do with his tongue, while in front of them the nervous lieutenant lets out a little _eep!_ and Kylo Ren laughs again, but more softly and with his eyes on Hux.

***

There’s a dinner as reward for sitting through speeches. The Supreme Leader and his General are escorted through to the banqueting hall and everyone rises to their feet. For a moment Hux wonders what they will all do if Ren simply refuses to sit down, and Ren looks round to catch his eye. Ren takes his time to scan around the entire hall and for the briefest instant Hux thinks he really is going to stand for the entire evening. But then Ren turns to give him an amused smile and sits. There is a collective sigh and a shuffle as the assembled military and diplomats and their partners all take their seats. Hux leans closer to Kylo Ren and murmurs, _”I believe there are a few dissenters here tonight—moralist faction—watch your back.”_

The first course is served, eaten and cleared away before the first of the speakers rises. They sit politely through a history of the planet’s involvement with the Empire’s glory and then the Republic’s failure to deliver on empty promises. Some of it, Hux thinks with annoyance, predicts what he himself will say later but the speaker is far less eloquent than he will be. Ren touches his knee, a light tap under the table to get his attention, and Hux looks at him.  
“Don’t worry,” Ren says with a half-smile. “Nobody is listening to this bore. They’re waiting for them to stop droning on so they can have their main course.”  
Hux frowns but scans the room. Ren is right: the audience members are looking at their empty tables and sitting in polite silence with their hands folded in their laps. Even Hux’s captain standing a few feet away looks like he might nod off on his feet.

A scatter of applause prompts a more rousing ovation once the local governor takes a bow and sits down again in their place on Kylo Ren’s other side. Hux leans across to thank their host for an enlightening speech but somehow his hand slips on the table edge. He thumps it down automatically to stop himself from falling face-first into the Supreme Leader’s lap and apologises immediately, but Kylo Ren is smirking at him. When he looks, Hux sees that his hand has landed on the Supreme Leader’s chair in the space between his thighs. He looks back up at Ren, face aflame at his own clumsiness, but Ren murmurs for his ears only, _”Playing along, general? They all assume you’re my chosen life partner and I sense it can be used to our advantage.”_ Ren weaves their fingers together and rests their clasped hands on the table in front of him for all to witness. Hux sits forward, aware of a few raised eyebrows and open stares, heat rising up his neck to colour his cheeks. He’s grateful when Ren starts stroking his wrist that his lace panties will hold his nascent erection in place, and he quickly turns his mind to mundane matters.

Fortunately the main course arrives and he makes conversation about the aims of the First Order with the official beside him. The Supreme Leader listens in and smiles when the gushing official asks if they have plans to wed and enthuses about the planet’s strong tradition of early, arranged pairings and lifelong monogamy. Hux handles it as well as he can, assuring his interlocutor that should there be a wedding in the near future, this planet would be considered a prime location for it if only it were brought fully under First Order control. Kylo Ren squeezes his hand and releases it at last. Hux doesn’t eat his main course. He wonders why he feels unwell then realises that he is hyper-aware of Kylo Ren’s presence beside him and tonight it unsettles him.

There is no time to think about what that means. The planet’s principal governor is standing and bringing the hall to attention so that they can introduce their guest of honour. The Supreme Leader stands and there is a comical moment when everybody else does too except for Hux. Ren touches Hux on the shoulder and as Hux stands, Ren sits and the position is reversed with Hux the only one on his feet. Ren lets out a soft laugh at Hux’s predicament and that jolts Hux into character. He takes a deep, calming breath.

“Good evening, Governors and Citizens. I am General Armitage Hux and I stand before you as the spokesperson of the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren.”

Hux waits for applause which comes polite and reserved, as if holding back to see what he has to offer. Kylo Ren looks up at him and smiles but there is a gleam in his eye and an idea forms in Hux’s head without him having to think about it. He raises an eyebrow and Ren nods slowly.

“I am also lucky enough to be his chosen life partner so you know we speak with one voice.”

 _There!_ Hux thinks as the applause warms the room. _Now they are listening!_ Ren’s hand slips into his for a few seconds and Hux squeezes it to convey _I’ve got this._ He speaks animatedly of the failings of the Empire that led to corruption, the naive fumbling of the idealistic New Republic that led to disorder through incompetence, and the strengths of the First Order that offers the surest way of bringing lasting peace to the galaxy. He peppers his speech with looks and smiles at the Supreme Leader as if he were a young lover unable to take his eyes off his partner for more than a minute at a time and each time he finds that Kylo Ren is smiling back at him. When the thunder of applause dies down after the end of his speech, the governor thanks him and expresses the opinion that the Galaxy could not want for a better matched couple on the throne. Hux almost believes it himself.

The Supreme Leader and his General are led from the banquet hall to the adjacent ballroom where a traditional band plays unobtrusive music. There are drinks and informal discussions in advance of tomorrow’s formal talks which Hux is now certain will result in a handover of the planet’s resources and security to Kylo Ren and the First Order. He’s bored, but recognises that diplomacy here can’t be rushed so his desire to retire to his own hotel suite and work on strategy for ensuring the next successful planetary takeover has to be suppressed. He sips sparkling wine from a tall, narrow glass, spies Kylo Ren nearby conversing with someone in a military style jacket, and finds the governor at his elbow.

“I expect your traditions and ours are quite different. Have you been betrothed long?”  
The question is a reasonable one but Hux feels guarded about answering without Kylo Ren by his side. He considers the possible consequences of an incorrect answer: discovery of their small deception, distrust, the breakdown of this peaceful (and cheap) diplomatic takeover and the expense of calling in a couple of star destroyers to pacify the planet while its mineral resources are stripped to fund expansion of the fleet and recruits are taken to swell the depleted stormtrooper corps. He feels strongly that Kylo Ren would answer with something as close to the truth as possible.

“Supreme Leader Snoke, our former leader, decided to partner his chosen successor with myself a little over five standard years ago. My father, Brendol Hux, agreed to this. There simply has not been time to formalise our partnership properly with a traditional wedding.”  
“But we have sworn oaths in one another’s presence,” Kylo Ren’s voice sails brightly from behind Hux and he turns. “Repeatedly. Haven’t we, darling?”  
“Um, yes,” replies Hux, “darling.” The endearment feels odd in his mouth and he drawls it out, eyes averted. Ren leans in and plants a firm kiss on his cheek. The band has started up some jaunty melody loud enough that people are dancing. The air feels too humid and Ren’s words filter unsaid into Hux’s mind.  
_Give them whatever they ask for to avoid a pointless conflict._  
Hux pulls Ren back to return the kiss and murmur, _”what if they ask for a wedding?”_  
Kylo Ren steps away and looks at Hux with a wide grin. He turns to the governor. “We have an idea, if you will agree to it.” Hux frowns, heart in his mouth, cheeks warming and head shaking out _no!_ But Ren cradles his face in both hands and kisses his lips gently. _Take control!_  
Hux sighs and nods once and Ren laughs. “Governor, I think time could be found for a wedding, yes? After the formal negotiations tomorrow?”  
The governor has physically taken a step back, but smiles, claps their hands and says, “Why not now? I’ll see to it.”

Hux and Ren are left alone in the crowd for all of three minutes before Ren is whisked off to prepare and Hux’s captain comes for him a minute later. When Hux is escorted back to the ballroom after having been given plenty time and facilities to freshen up and learn his lines, Ren is nowhere to be seen. Hux is led to the centre of the dance floor and his captain stands in silence at his side. The band’s background music launches into a leaden march and the crowd parts. Hux looks across the floor to see Ren’s guards, resplendent in their red uniforms and shiny helmets, walking slowly towards him with their weapons presented. They too stop and stand aside, and Hux stares. He forgets about the existence of air.

Kylo Ren steps between them in a black dress uniform with a gold-trimmed cape. It’s not First Order, but that is a minor detail and Hux decides he can overlook it for now. His hair has been brushed until it falls to his shoulders in glossy waves, and a slim gold band glints as it holds his hair back from his forehead. He walks right up to Hux, standing close, far too close, and as he offers Hux both hands the band falls silent.  
“Armitage Hux.” When Ren speaks his voice is gentle and serious. “As promised by our elders, I stand here to offer myself as your life partner. Will you accept the contract our elders agreed for us?”  
Hux stares at Ren’s dark eyes outlined with gold that highlights the amber in his irises, full lips where he thinks he sees a hint of red pigment, then at Ren’s hands still offered palm uppermost. He looks at Ren’s face again, suddenly aware of the silence in the room, then smiles and slips his hands into Ren’s. He nods.  
“Kylo Ren,” Hux wonders if his voice wavers. It should, he’s so nervous. “I accept you as my life partner. I offer myself according to the contract agreed by our elders.”

As soon as the words are spoken, the crowd cheers and the band resumes playing jaunty dance music. Hux and Ren are led away to a side room where the governor waits with two sheets of paper. “Since you could not supply the contracts drawn up by Snoke and Brendol, I have brought two copies of the standard life partner contract, translated into Basic for you. It is quite simple as you will see. You may read them here in private and negotiate any clauses that are not suited to your needs. I am qualified to make any legal alterations and oversee witness statements.” As they move to sit around the small conference table, the governor smiles with genuine warmth. “Congratulations. I wish you many successful years together. This will do a lot to persuade my fellow governors that you are people of integrity.”

Hux scans the words, barely registering their meaning. He can’t take his eyes off Kylo Ren and when the governor catches him staring he doesn’t have to bother acting the part of the blushing newly-wed. Kylo Ren looks up too and laughs.  
“I think this is satisfactory, don’t you, Armitage?” he says. He looks to the governor. “Do you have a calligraphy pen?”  
As their signatures dry, one of Ren’s guards and Hux’s captain are summoned to sign witness statements, then all are given copies of the contracts and sent back out to the party.

The governor catches Hux by the elbow as he leaves the room then apologises for the uninvited touch.  
“You know, nobody would think ill of you if...”  
Hux watches, curious, as the governor chews their lip.  
“You should remain for one dance which we will all watch. That is traditional. After that if you...”  
“If we... what?” asks Hux, genuinely perplexed now.  
“If you both were to, um, _excuse yourselves from company to be alone!”_ Having hissed out this much without causing affront loosens the governor’s tongue slightly. “I mean, he is very handsome and you’re... and that must have been torture for you both. Five years of...” The governor shakes their head slowly but their words seem to have dried up.  
“Five years of what?” Hux asks, leaning his head conspiratorially closer and looking towards the band where Ren spoke with the musicians.  
“Five years of... of... restraint! I saw you groping at dinner then holding hands and he _kissed you_ in front of everyone. I think you have saved yourselves from certain disgrace by taking your formal vows tonight. I doubt you could have held out much longer.”  
Hux bites the inside of his lip to stop himself from laughing aloud. “And what about you?” he asks. “How long did you have to _hold out_ if I may ask? I mean no offence and demand no answer.”  
The governor looks stricken. They lean close and murmur, “Twenty years. It was fine for the first fifteen because we were kids and just wanted to steal each other’s toys, wrestle and fight. But the last five... ugh! All that sneaking around our chaperons! Look, there’s my life partner. We’ll get to dance together after you.”  
Hux watches as one of the other governors holds out a hand and lets it fall untouched as they walk away shoulder to shoulder, in step, knuckles occasionally brushing.

The crowd of onlookers parts for him as he walks to where Ren stands in front of the band. the governor is right: Kylo Ren is handsome, devastatingly so in that uniform. Hux swallows at a lump in his throat. Even though this is a sham he feels like he still doesn’t deserve this—not even a single dance after a wedding ceremony that they will probably laugh about in a week and forget in two. Ren smiles, offering his hand, and Hux forgets all that. He takes Ren’s hand and the band begins to play a slow waltz. Hux laughs and Ren pulls him into a close stance that has their audience staring.  
“I should warn you,” Hux murmurs into Ren’s ear, “that this dance may be considered obscenely erotic by the standards of this planet. Our kind host just cornered me to suggest that we’ve saved ourselves from certain disgrace by marrying after being seen holding hands in public.”  
Ren laughs softly and the sound, or perhaps the feel of it, makes the skin of Hux’s back tingle. “I have been informed by the band leader that it is customary for the contracted couple to escape as soon as the first dance is over. We could put on a show for them. Act like we’ve been barely able to keep our hands off one another for five years.”

As if to illustrate his meaning, Ren slides his hands from Hux’s waist to the crests of his hips. In response, Hux slips his hands from Ren’s shoulders securely behind Ren’s neck and shuffles closer until their bodies bump together with every other beat of the music. He closes his eyes and lets Ren lead, imagination taking him upstairs to their hotel suite where they will part until morning and he can indulge himself like he’s planned. He’s tired, exhausted after days of sitting up late poring over reports of damages and likely repair budgets, and his head rests so comfortably on Ren’s broad shoulder that he forgets where he is. Ren smells good. Hux smiles as that thought passes through his head. Ren always smelled of a mix of warm earth and wood, with a metallic tang when he’d return after a mission, and sometimes he just reeked. Hux wonders what they put in Ren’s hair today, and if he can get some. He feels Ren’s cheek against the side of his head and Ren’s voice directly in his ear.  
_it’s some kind of oil can ask for more think they use it for all sorts of things_

Hux is startled back to wakefulness and he moves apart from Ren slightly, realising that he’s half hard again from their accidental friction and he needs to guard his thoughts. He wishes he could go back in time to the morning when he decided foolishly that there wasn’t time to pleasure himself and that a day thinking of it might make it all the more intense when he finally lies in a hotel bed and slips his hand inside his lace panties and takes his time. Ren catches his eye and Hux presses his lips into a tight line.  
“Do you think we have convinced them enough?” asks Hux. Ren nods and Hux leads him by the hand from the dance floor, looking demurely at his feet.

They’re met at the door and escorted to their suite. Ren goes in first and laughs: someone has thought to come up and leave a cooler of sparkling wine and two glasses by the side of the one bed, which has been turned down and their night clothes arranged into decorative shapes on the pillows. Hux groans.  
“One bed. Might have known.”  
Ren swipes the wine and pours two glasses. He hands one to Hux who sniffs it and puts it down. “I intend to sleep in it,” Ren says. “You are welcome to join me there or use the sofa or the floor if you prefer. So, tomorrow’s strategy?”  
“Tomorrow’s strategy is unchanged except that the locals might be a little more well disposed to their respectfully married masters.” Hux sighs. “Why did you insist on it, Kylo?”  
Ren shrugs. “I thought it would distract them. Give them something to talk about that isn’t the First Order contracts we’re all signing tomorrow. A few of the governors are uneasy about it and seeing us as part of their culture might sway them a little.”  
“Well. Perhaps instead of a display of public wantonness on the dance floor they would have benefitted from a display of enforced order from orbit. Then we could be in our own beds on The Finalizer tonight instead of here.” Hux looks around the suite and shakes his head. “I hope they have a decent ‘fresher.”

There is, Hux finds, a shower enclosure in a small ensuite room that is too cramped to get changed in. Hux informs Ren that he is going to shower and go to bed. While Hux is sorting through his wash bag, Ren opens the wardrobe to find that their clothes have already been pressed and hung for the morning. A shimmer of turquoise from the shelf catches Ren’s eye and he lifts out the slippers and stockings Hux had stashed in his bag for his own private pleasure. He turns to find Hux standing, face pink with shame, undressed as far as his shirt and breeches. Ren lays the slippers and lace-top stockings carefully on the bed.  
“Yours, or,” he senses that he should offer Hux an escape route, “left by a previous occupant?”  
Hux thinks he might vomit. He takes a deep breath, glad that he did not eat much at dinner.  
“They’re so pretty,” Ren says quietly. “Not my size though. Wouldn’t fit my ugly feet in those. Who were you going to wear them for?” Ren asks, although he’s sure he knows the answer. “Your captain?”  
“Myself,” Hux snaps. “I like the way they make me feel, all right?”  
“I bet,” Ren says, touching the sheer fabric of the stockings almost reverently. “I bet you look so good in them.”  
“Stop touching!” Hux lunges for the stockings and checks them for snags.  
“I’d like... if it’s okay with you,” Ren says after a minute of Hux blinking back tears. “I’d like to see. If you’ll show me.”  
Hux looks at him, lower lip sucked between his teeth, eyes damp. Ren smiles.  
“You must know I wore the uniform to be handsome for you. Can I see you be beautiful for yourself.”

Hux frowns but his panic recedes. He lays the stockings down again. “Close your eyes,” he tells Ren. “And turn around.”  
Ren does as Hux demands. Hux considers his options. Undress completely and let Ren turn around when he hears the hiss of the shower. Remove his silk and lace and put on his nightclothes. Or. Or the other thing. Hux feels his face warm and presses both hands to his cheeks. He closes his eyes for a couple of seconds, wondering if this is something he’s able to share with someone else. He never has before—it’s quite a new thing to him too, a discovery he made when searching the holonet on a scrambled channel for something nice to help him sleep. He’d found a four minute holovid of a lithe young officer slowly removing his uniform to reveal crimson and black lingerie underneath and palming himself until his cock peeked out of the lace top of close fitting panties. He’d shut down the channel and brought himself off, fast, to the imagined sensation of smooth fabric and delicate lace.

“Armitage?” Ren still faces away. “You’re beautiful. I want to see you.”  
“Wait.” Hux sighs. He pulls off his shirt and trousers, checks his hair, sits down to ease his feet into the bunched stockings and carefully stretches the fabric up to his thighs. Last, he stands up and pushes his feet into the satin slippers.  
“Don’t move,” he instructs. There’s a mirror and he checks himself over, smoothing out the wrinkles where the top has been tucked into his waistband and trying to cool the dark areas under his eyes with the backs of his fingers. It’s not perfect, not perfect enough, and he considers throwing on a robe to hide it all. He turns to tell Ren no, it’s not the right time for this frivolity, but Ren is already staring at him, lips parted and eyes wide.  
“I swear, Kylo Ren,” Hux says, pointing at him, face contorted into a snarl, “if you laugh I _will_ kill you.”  
Somehow, Ren drags his eyes up to meet Hux’s grimace. “Come here,” he says in a hoarse whisper, half standing, then swallows and licks his lips and says it again. “Come here. Fuck, who knew you were this gorgeous!”

Hux walks forward, the pretty, pretty slippers making him take little steps and think about how he places his feet gracefully one a little in front of the other. They’re not made for striding or swaggering but he knows they make his hips sway. He tosses his head and strokes a hand back through his smooth hair, straightening his spine, shimmying his shoulders until they relax, and letting the coloured silk he wears so well speak for him. Ren’s kneeling on the bed now, eyes roving up and down and not knowing where to settle. Hux takes a deep breath and smiles.  
“All right, Kylo. You are every bit as handsome in black and gold as I imagined you would be.” He touches Ren under the chin to tilt his face up. “More, perhaps. I didn’t think about the gold eyeliner or the red lip colour. They’re—“  
“All for you!” Ren says quickly. “I saw the image in your mind. I wasn’t prying, it just happens. With people I feel a connection to. With you. I see what you want and... I wanted you to have this. To have me the way you saw me in your head.”

Hux perches on the edge of the bed, thinking over Ren’s confession. “You read my mind?” he asks. “How often?”  
Ren’s head sinks into his hands and he flops over onto his side on the bed. “It’s not a conscious thing. Sometimes I pick up on your thoughts and I don’t realise they’re yours and not mine for a few seconds. I promise I block it as soon as I realise! Like in the shuttle, you were daydreaming about me in a black and gold uniform and I thought it was _me_ thinking it until I heard the thought that I’d be handsome.”  
Hux frowns at that. “Kylo?” he says, “explain to me how you knew you were reading my thoughts and not your own.”  
Ren takes a deep breath and sits up. He looks at Hux. “You thought I was handsome. I’m not. I’m... well. You see me.”  
Hux stands up and takes Ren’s hand. ”Get up,” he says. “Come over here with me.”

Hux leads Ren to the mirror and stands beside him. He can’t see Ren’s reflection in the narrow glass but he knows Ren can see himself if he cares to look. “I barely know where to begin,” says Hux. “So I will start at the top.” He plucks the circlet from Ren’s head, tosses it on a chair, and pushes the splayed fingers of one hand through his shiny hair. “Your hair is beautiful. It’s thick and smooth and seems to have a life of its own at times. In one of my fantasies—“ Hux stops and bites his lip. This is too much, he thinks, but Ren looks sideways at him.  
“Go on? Please.”  
“All right.” Hux stands behind Ren and looks at his refection over his shoulder. He buries both hands in Ren’s thick tresses. “One of my fantasies starts with me brushing your hair. Braiding it so it stays out of your face.” He feels Ren’s breath hitch and a mischievous though occurs. “If you’re really good,” Hux promises, “one day I might tell you why your hair needs to be off your face in that fantasy.”

Pulling Ren’s hair up into a thick knot that he can barely contain with one hand, Hux leans forward and kisses the shell of one of Ren’s ears. Ren moans quietly and Hux does it again, nipping it between his lips and tracing the outer edge with a pointed tongue. Ren turns into him and laughs. “I had no idea I liked that,” he says, and Hux grins.  
“I like your ears. They make me smile.”  
“They’re not handsome though, are they?” asks Ren.  
“No,” admits Hux. “But they’re part of you and you’re more than your parts. Like a picture puzzle. The individual pieces aren’t much but the whole can be beautiful.”  
“Are you comparing my head to a jigsaw puzzle piece?” asks Ren, tracing the shape in the air. “Because if so—“  
Hux laughs and lavishes attention on Ren’s other ear while Ren giggles and squirms.

Next, Hux traces the line of Ren’s most obvious scar from his jaw to his forehead then runs a slender finger across Ren’s eyebrows, down the bridge of his nose and back along his jaw line. For a second Hux thinks Ren is about to catch his finger in his teeth. He decides he’d allow it.  
“I like your face. You are handsome. You really are. Not if you take each individual element, but if you look at how everything fits together. You must have caught me staring tonight. Yes?” Ren nods once. “That’s because I couldn’t bear not to be looking at this.” He strokes his hands over Ren’s cheeks and jaw, smiles as Ren holds his hand still and gently bites his fingertip, then reaches down to unfasten Ren’s borrowed uniform jacket.

Hux has to stop and walk around Ren to get to his belt buckle and tunic buttons. Ren’s smiling, looking down and over his shoulder, and Hux glares. “Are you checking out my arse, Supreme Leader?” he asks. Ren’s eyes are suddenly looking up and he nods.  
“Might be,” he says. “I want to touch you.”  
“Not yet,” replies Hux as an inner voice yells _why not!_ “I’ve not finished with you here.”  
He peels the jacket off Ren’s shoulders and lets it fall from his arms onto the floor. Ren’s shirt is next to go and soon Ren stands naked from the waist up, avoiding looking in the mirror. Hux massages Ren’s shoulder muscles and drops a kiss onto his deltoid.  
“Look at this muscle definition. You’re beautifully built, Kylo. I could stare at you all day.” Hux lets his hands trail down Ren’s chest, feeling the firmness of his pectoral muscles and the ridges of his serratus and abdominals.  
“But the sc—“  
“Scars?” Hux presses a hand to the star shaped bowcaster scar on Ren’s side and runs a finger up the scar on his shoulder that matches the line of the scar on his face. “Proof of your strength and power. Someone did these to you and you got back up again.”

He hesitates as he reaches for the fastening of Ren’s trousers. Hux is aware that he’s rock hard, cock straining at flimsy lace, and the urge to press himself against Ren is almost overpowering. He stands in front of Ren and slips one hand inside the waistband so that he can work on the awkward fastening without pinching. When it finally pops open, he looks up to see Ren gazing at him.  
“What?” he asks. “Enough?”  
Warm hands cup his cheeks and soft lips press to his. Ren’s hands run down his back to his arse and he pulls their hips close. Hux realises that Ren’s hard too. He ruts once against Ren’s hips and delights in the breathy _a-ah-ah_ it elicits from Ren.  
“Kylo?” he says quietly, a sudden fear gnawing at his gut. “Are we still acting the newly-wed couple?”  
“No,” replies Ren, chasing Hux’s lips for another kiss. “This is what I want. Let me see your fantasy.”

***

Hux freezes for a second but Ren adds a quiet _”please?”_ and he allows himself a moment supported in Ren’s arms. He knows that if they are to share a bed, or even if he sleeps nearby on the couch, Ren will find out anyway because having seen all this, held Kylo in his arms, there’s no way his mind is staying free of it. Perhaps Ren already senses the direction his mind often wanders when he’s intent on pleasuring himself. “All right then,” he says. “Lie on the bed.”

Once he’s set on a thing, Hux is unshakeable. He guides Ren to lie propped up on the pillows and settles himself between Ren’s thighs, reclining back with his head on Ren’s chest. He’s aware of Ren’s arousal and that makes it all the easier to slip into his fantasy. He orders the light to dim a little then closes his eyes and runs flat palms down his silk-clad torso, slowly, feeling the slip of the fabric over his smooth shin. Behind him, Ren’s breath hitches and Ren shifts. Hux considers asking Ren to lie still but he doesn’t want to break his concentration with words.

His hands draw lazy circles over his neck, chest and stomach, fingertips pausing to rub across his nipples until they are standing out, visible under the fabric. Hux catches his lower lip between his teeth and arches into the touch of his own hands, teasing himself, letting out a soft moan when his fingers don’t reach low enough. After repeating this frustrating action a few times, he shimmies back against Ren and hears Ren catch a breath and let it out in a quiet hum. Hux parts his legs, hooking one foot either side of Ren’s knees. He trails his fingers down to the crease of his thighs and touches his straining cock through the lace for the first time. When he does it, it takes all his effort not to give in, not to bring himself off before he’s really ready.

In his imagination, Kylo Ren kneels over him and tells him he’s beautiful. He responds with _”I know”_ and then it’s Kylo Ren’s hands that worship his taut, lithe body and ghost over his hard cock.

Hux feels Ren shift under him again and large, warm hands touch his waist. Ren’s voice is in his head, pleading: _Let me? Can I?_ He nods once and Ren’s hands caress his upper body slowly, the way he’s been shown. Hux presses one hand over his erection and thrusts up slowly into it, head lolling back on Ren’s shoulder, feet anchored by Ren’s legs. Ren thrusts up once too and sighs. Ren’s hands move down in smooth circles that reach lower each time until his fingers brush Hux’s hand, still holding frustratingly light pressure on his cock. The voice is in his head again: _Please? I want to._ Hux takes his hands off his body and he stretches out, feet slipping down Ren’s calves, back arching so that he presses into Ren’s touch, arms out to his sides. He relaxes back and smiles, thinking _tease me, then_ and wondering if Ren will hear.

He does. Ren wants to grab and push and suck and bite, but he won’t because that is not what Hux is thinking about. He keeps his slow circles going, lower and lower but missing the bulge in the front of the pretty lace fabric. He kisses Hux’s shoulder, nuzzles at the curve of his neck and makes him squirm back. He likes that, they both do. Ren craves the friction against his own erection, and he does it again. He wants to stop and finish undressing or at least free his cock but this is Hux’s fantasy and he won’t deviate from it. His hands roam as low as he can reach, petting the delicate skin of Hux’s inner thighs.  
  
_Beautiful,_ he murmurs. _You’re so beautiful like this._

Ren senses the change in Hux’s fantasy and he reacts to follow it. His left hand cups Hux’s balls through flimsy fabric while the fingers of his right slip under the elastic of the waistband to stroke the length of his shaft. Hux lets out a moan and Ren bites his lip, hoping that the small pain will distract him from his own fantasy. He eases the lace down to expose Hux’s cock and clasps it gently. His left hand teases the sensitive skin under Hux’s balls and his right makes slow strokes from base to head while Hux trembles and jerks. He can tell Hux is close. His head is back, mouth falling open. His legs repeatedly tighten and release, and his hands fist in the bedcovers. Hux groans and thrusts into Ren’s touch and Ren moves with him, denying the release he’s silently begging for.

Hands still, Ren waits while Hux thrusts up and grinds back down. At this rate he thinks he might not last much longer himself. When he senses Hux can’t take much more, he tightens his grip a little and moves his hands faster. In a few seconds, Hux is shuddering and crying out with every twitching muscle spasm that spurts come onto his pretty lace top.

Ren lets go and clasps Hux tightly around the middle, holding him and murmuring praise in his ear. Hux lies still until he trusts his breathing, trusts his heartbeat, trusts himself not to cry. A couple of tears escape anyway. Ren senses embarrassment and is quick to reassure: _beautiful wonderful thankyou thankyou._ He kisses Hux on the cheek again and Hux smiles.  
“Let me up,” says Hux, “I need to rinse my camisole in cold water before the stains set.”

While Hux is in the ‘fresher, Ren finishes undressing and takes care of himself. It’s quick and intense. He slips naked between the sheets and dims the lights further. Hux returns and lies nude on top of the covers. Ren wonders at his confidence.  
“Supreme Leader,” says Hux and Ren can feel the laugh behind his use of the title, “I didn’t finish what I started. I only got as far as your waist.”  
“Tomorrow,” says Ren with a smile. “I want you to show me how to do what you do.”  
“You want me to show you how to masturbate? I thought everyone worked out—“  
“No!” Ren can’t help laughing. He flops an arm across Hux’s waist and rolls over to kiss him. “I want you to teach me how to feel beautiful. Can you do that?”  
Hux frowns and sucks his lip and for a moment Ren is worried that it is too much to ask, too impossible a task. But then Hux grins and strokes his cheek, pulls him down for another kiss.  
“I suppose,” he says, “I can do that.” He kisses Ren again and laughs, a low breathy snigger. “Next time we’ll need a better mirror. I have one in my quarters that will do nicely.”


End file.
